A look at the new employee fitness program at the Jefferson County School District reveals the sweat equity that already is part of many jobs.

Bus drivers spend a lot of time sitting, but they start each shift with a lot of crouching, lifting and stretching — like opening and closing all those bus windows or putting chains on tires. Custodians walk a lot as they navigate school campuses, which brings the risk of slipping or falling, a hazard that requires good balance and core strength to hold at bay. While many food service workers are part-time, their shifts are jam-packed with reaching or crouching for items on shelves.

These are all examples that demonstrate why a single fitness program might not be the best for every employee, and why the district’s new fitness videos are tailored for specific employee groups.

“We really picked as many brains as we could and did environmental tours to really get an idea of what an employee goes through, what activities are repetitive,” said Dana Wisniewski, a manager for the district’s Wellness Connections employee health and fitness program. “We took all this information into consideration when we designed our fitness programs.”

Wisniewski and fellow program manager Krista Kinnaird created workouts and videos tailored to five employee groups: bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, teachers and administrative staff. The workouts incorporate moves that address repetitive movements, and target strength and flexibility around those movements. For teachers and administrative staff, for example, the program includes a focus on controlled breathing and brain breaks.

And all programs meet one of the employees’ top requests: to be worked into the short amount of extra time they have in their workdays.

“Our program this year is really working around that theme of trying to engage people where they are,” said Lisa Eacker, the district’s employee benefits director.

Eacker said that when Wellness Connections, which is a voluntary program contracted through AdvantageHealth, started, it included offerings such as discounted eight-week group fitness classes held after work hours.

Now, five years later, it is being redesigned to include more flexible options, such as a list of credentialed fitness instructors employees can chose from and bring to their school at a time that fits their schedule. There will also be an upgrade in the software to help people connect with others who have similar fitness goals.

When the videos are introduced to employees in mid-August, certain employees will be designated as trainers and leaders to help motivate their peers, part of the effort to build a culture around wellness.

“We found that to really have staff engage in this, we had to have upper management create a culture that this is normal,” Wisniewski said.

Tom Beston is Jeffco Schools‘ supervisor for custodial services, overseeing the nearly 600 custodial workers at district facilities. He said there is already a culture of safety promoted among the staff, and the fitness videos will dovetail into that.

“I’m hoping that this program will do the same thing,” he said, “because we did talk about core strengthening because it will help their back(s).”

Josie Klemaier is part of the YourHub team as a reporter and page designer. She covers community news in Golden, Evergreen, Conifer and Morrison, as well as issues related to craft beer, the outdoors, history and culture. Klemaier studied journalism at Metropolitan State College of Denver and lives in the foothills in Jefferson County.

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